Author Abstract
Female "empowerment" has increasingly become a policy goal, both as an end to itself and as a means to achieving other development goals. Microfinance in particular has often been argued, but not without controversy, to be a tool for empowering women. Here, using a randomized controlled trial, we examine whether access to and marketing of an individually-held commitment savings product leads to an increase in female decision-making power within the household. We find positive impacts, particularly for women who have below median decision-making power in the baseline, and we find this leads to a shift towards female-oriented durables goods purchased in the household. Keywords: savings, microfinance, female empowerment, household decision making. 27 pages.
Paper Information
- Full Working Paper Text
- Working Paper Publication Date: March 2009
- HBS Working Paper Number: 09-100
- Faculty Unit(s): Negotiation, Organizations & Markets